Port Perry High School wrestling team has bright future

Local meet attracted more than 240 competitors

Wrestling in Northern Classic at Port Perry High School

Celia Klemenz / Metroland

PORT PERRY -- Romiel Clarke, of Pickering High School, top, and Siad Fazel, of the Port Perry High School Rebels, flipped as they competed in class 51 weight. Siad Fazel took the match. More than 250 wrestlers came to compete at the Northern Classic wrestling tournament held at Port Perry High School. January 10, 2014

Wrestling in Northern Classic at Port Perry High School

Celia Klemenz / Metroland

PORT PERRY -- David O'Soneson, of I.E. Weldon Secondary School Tigers in Lindsay, left, flipped Ian Dedrick, of the Port Perry High School Rebels, as they competed in class 64 weight. David O'Soneson took the match. More than 250 wrestlers came to compete at the Northern Classic wrestling tournament at Port Perry High School. January 10, 2014

Wrestling in Northern Classic at Port Perry High School

Celia Klemenz / Metroland

PORT PERRY -- Quentin Hasenhind, of Clarington Central Secondary School, left, and Cory Sarghent, of the Port Perry High School Rebels, competed in class 77 weight. Quentin Hasenhind took the match. More than 250 wrestlers came to compete at the Northern Classic wrestling tournament held at Port Perry High School. January 10, 2014

Wrestling in Northern Classic at Port Perry High School

Celia Klemenz / Metroland

PORT PERRY -- Rianna Patterson, of Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute Rams in Peterborough, left, tangled up with Jessica May, of Maxwell Heights Secondary School Mustangs of Oshawa, as they competed in class 61 weight. Jessica May took the match. More than 250 wrestlers came to compete at the Northern Classic wrestling tournament at Port Perry High School. January 10, 2014

Wrestling in Northern Classic at Port Perry High School

Celia Klemenz / Metroland

PORT PERRY -- Nadeem Wahap, of Pickering High School, left, and David O'Soneson, of I.E. Weldon Secondary School Tigers of Lindsay, flipped as they competed in class 64 weight. Nadeem Wahap took the match. More than 250 wrestlers came to compete at the Northern Classic wrestling tournament held at Port Perry High School. January 10, 2014

Wrestling in Northern Classic at Port Perry High School

Celia Klemenz / Metroland

PORT PERRY -- Romiel Clarke, of Pickering High School, top, and Siad Fazel, of the Port Perry High School Rebels, flipped as they competed in class 51 weight. Siad Fazel took the match. More than 250 wrestlers came to compete at the Northern Classic wrestling tournament held at Port Perry High School. January 10, 2014

Hosting a meet that attracted more than 240 wrestlers, Huggins saw enough from his young squad of about 20 to warrant some optimism for this season and the future.

“I’m excited by some of the young kids,” he said of the results.

In all, four members of the PPHS team earned medals, led by Tyler Field, a Grade 9 student who won silver in the 61kgs class. What makes his accomplishment impressive is that the tournament had open divisions, only divided by weight class, meaning freshman wrestlers competed against seniors.

“He’s someone I could build a program around over the next couple of years,” said Huggins in praise of Field.

On the girls’ side, Melissa Scott, a Grade 10 student, strung together four wins to top her division. Scott is off to the Ontario Winter Games, and Huggins envisions taking her to nationals in the cadette division, where he predicts a top-five or -six finish among the country’s best young wrestlers.

PPHS was kept off the podium in the overall standings, as Huggins noted last year’s cancellation of a lot of extracurriculars in high schools prevented a year of development.

“We have a younger team and my tournament doesn’t separate the junior from the seniors,” he said. “We also had a lot of teams from the COSSA region which wasn’t affected by the strike action last year where LOSSA was. Our area really lost one year.”

Some recent rule changes helped speed up the matches, noted Huggins, as about 440 bouts were held on four mats, which took just over six hours to complete.